South Arm Highway, Shoreline Drive to Oceana Drive - Duplication
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2007 (No. 18) _______________ PARLIAMENT OF TASMANIA _______________ PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS South Arm Highway, Shoreline Drive to Oceana Drive - Duplication ______________ Presented to His Excellency the Governor pursuant to the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1914. ______________ MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY Mr Harriss (Chairman) Mr Best Mr Hall Mrs Napier Mr Sturges By Authority: Government Printer, Tasmania TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 3 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................... 3 PROJECT OBJECTIVE ................................................................................................ 3 PROJECT JUSTIFICATION ......................................................................................... 4 THE EXISTING SITUATION ...................................................................................... 5 THE PROJECT .............................................................................................................. 7 COSTS ........................................................................................................................... 8 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS ............................................... 8 PROJECT AMENDMENT .......................................................................................... 12 EVIDENCE.................................................................................................................. 13 DOCUMENTS TAKEN INTO EVIDENCE ............................................................... 26 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ........................................................... 26 1 2 INTRODUCTION To His Excellency the Honourable William John Ellis Cox, Companion of the Order of Australia, Reserve Forces Decoration, Efficiency Decoration, Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia. MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY The Committee has investigated the following proposal: - South Arm Highway, Shoreline Drive to Oceana Drive - Duplication and now has the honour to present the Report to Your Excellency in accordance with the Public Works Committee Act 1914. The following constitutes the written submission of the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources to the Committee: BACKGROUND The South Arm Highway, a State owned highway constructed in 1989, provides the primary arterial access between the Tasman Highway and areas such as Howrah and Rokeby. It connects the South Arm peninsula with the city centre of Clarence, Hobart’s western shore and the Hobart CBD. The highway has a four-lane divided carriageway between the Tasman Highway and immediately south of the Shoreline roundabout, where it reverts to a two-lane, two-way configuration. At the time of construction, earthworks for future duplication between the Shoreline roundabout and Merindah Street were substantially completed. The Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (DIER) plans to upgrade the South Arm Highway from Shoreline Drive to Oceana Drive by duplicating the highway to form a four lane divided carriageway, the conversion of the Merindah Street junction to a signalised intersection and the extension of Oceana Drive to join the highway. The South Arm Highway and Rokeby Main Road are contiguous and join 120 metres east of the Merindah Street junction - the use of South Arm Highway in this report should be read as the road known as South Arm Highway – Rokeby Main Road. PROJECT OBJECTIVE The objective of the South Arm Highway, Shoreline Drive to Oceana Drive project is to increase the capacity of this section of highway to cater for the future urban developments of the Droughty Point, Clarence Plains and South Arm areas. 3 DIER is also currently working on a project to determine the future transport options for the South Arm Highway from the Pass Road junction to the Police Academy in order to optimise the allocation of future funding for this road transport corridor. PROJECT JUSTIFICATION This project is part of the Tasmanian Labor Government’s $10 million election commitment to upgrade South Arm Road. The project will duplicate the existing highway to provide a dual carriageway from Shoreline Drive to Oceana Drive and connect Oceana Drive to the South Arm Highway. Currently the only road access to Howrah south, Tranmere and Droughty Point is via Howrah Road. The Oceana Drive connection is a high priority project for the Clarence City Council because it provides a second link from these growing areas to the Highway. In 2004 DIER and the Droughty Point land developers jointly undertook a traffic modeling study to identify long-term traffic demand and to assess possible solutions to improve transport access to Droughty Point from South Arm Highway. This study recommended the connection of Oceana Drive onto the South Arm Highway. Safety Benefits The following safety benefits are expected: • Avoiding head-on collisions by providing a median strip with a road barrier; • Re-directing the existing pedestrian crossing through the intersection traffic signals; • Providing safer turning facilities to Merindah Street and Oceana Drive; • Improving the existing pedestrian/cycle path by taking it through the signalised intersection; • Providing designated bus stops at the intersection; • Reducing traffic congestion on Howrah Road via Tranmere Road and their numerous intersections by connecting Oceana Drive; and • Releasing pressure at Shoreline roundabout during peak hours by metering traffic at Merindah Street/Oceana Drive intersection. Road User Benefits The growth in residential sub-divisions over recent years has made it important to improve traffic flow in the area. The project increases the road’s capacity to cater not only for current traffic volumes but also for traffic emanating from new urban developments planned for Droughty Point, Clarence Plains and South Arm peninsula. 4 THE EXISTING SITUATION The Road The South Arm Highway has been constructed as a single carriageway. At the western end of the project area, near the Shoreline roundabout, the highway is approximately 25 m ASL. The highway dips slightly before rising to approximately 50 m ASL adjacent to the Church of Christ Centre. East of Merindah Street the existing highway is relatively narrow as it passes through a low gap in the line of hills, including Glebe Hill and Rokeby Hills, that define the eastern extent of the existing urban development of Howrah. There is a pedestrian/cycle path along the southern side of the Highway from Clarence Street to the eastern end of the project. Traffic Flow The existing traffic volume on South Arm Highway is 17,000 vehicles per day. Traffic data based on a count undertaken by DIER 290 metres south of Shoreline roundabout in the week from 20 February 2007 is summarised in Table 1. Table 1. Traffic Data Average Average Average Average Week Day Daily Week Day Daily Traffic Traffic Traffic Traffic 0600 0600 to 2400 (vpd) (vpd) to 2400 (vpd) (vpd) Northbound 8,858 8,452 8,651 8,234 Southbound 9,233 8,708 9,118 8,544 Two way 18,091 17,160 17,769 16,778 Road Crashes The section of the South Arm Highway from the Shoreline roundabout to the entrance to the quarry experienced 19 crashes in the period from April 2000 until December 2006. This included: • Three head on crashes; • Seven collisions between vehicles traveling in the same direction; and • Six vehicles leaving the carriageway. 5 The Road Side The project is located within urban land, with native vegetation being confined to small remnants and scattered plants within the road reserve. The predominant land use on the lower slopes west of Glebe Hill and Rokeby Hills is urban. The more elevated parts of these hills are currently retained as natural bush, with minor quarrying and gravel extraction. The land adjacent to the South Arm Highway, east of the project area between Glebe Hill and Pass Road, has recently been approved for residential and associated activities. Land capability mapping has identified four land classes in the area. The majority of the land in the immediate area is classed as Exclusion Areas (major urban areas), with some Class 4, 5 and 6 land bordering the highway and urban areas. No natural drainage lines cross the road in this section of the highway. A vegetation and fauna habitat assessment undertaken in November 2006 has identified the following: • The majority of the roadside is comprised of residential gardens and modified road reserve. • The vegetated sections north of the existing highway consist of Eucalyptus amygdalina forest and Eucalyptus viminalis grassy woodland, neither of which is threatened at a regional or statewide basis. • A wide section of the southern road reserve, along the gully east of Oceana Drive is Eucalyptus ovata forest, an endangered forest community. • Although much of the area is highly modified it does offer some habitat opportunities for native fauna species, specifically: There is potential habitat at the bushland pasture interface for the Eastern-barred bandicoot Perameles gunnii. The Eucalyptus ovata offers foraging habitat for the Swift parrot Lathamus discolor. • Five plant species of conservation significance were recorded from the area in the current survey: One species of state and national significance, Austrodanthonia popinensis (Roadside wallaby